A study on rural areas becoming part of neighbouring municipalities has been refined. The terms of reference for a proposed North Okanagan Regional District annexation impact study have been changed to focus specifically on areas immediately adjacent to Vernon, Enderby and Lumby. “This is something we’ve been requesting for some time,” said Rick Fairbairn, rural Lumby director and Electoral Area Advisory Committee chairman. “We’ve had problems, especially with Vernon’s annexation wishes with Areas B and C.”
If the process is endorsed by the NORD board, the study will look at the financial, social and land use impacts of cumulative municipal annexations in electoral area boundary regions. It’s expected the study will provide recommendations for any issues that surface. “People need to know the value of annexation and not annexation,” said Mike Gavinchuk, BX-Swan Lake director. “We need to have both sides of the story. There are good points and bad. It’s not all one-sided.”
The study won’t just look at how annexation may affect rural residents, but how could impact municipalities that become responsible for services in rural areas such as roads. “What does it mean to them (municipal) in terms of their taxation?” said Fairbairn. As part of the process, there will be an analysis of the social, fiscal and land use outcomes and impacts of the City of Vernon’s annexation of Okanagan Landing in 1993. “It will look at what happened there and what it means today,” said Fairbairn. There isn’t a specific timeline to have the impact study wrapped up. “We hope it will be completed by the November 2011 election,” said Fairbairn.
3 comments:
Most people move here because of the small community feel.
In fact, this community of communities is so desirable most of our grown children still haunt our basements and fridges unable to purchase a home in this competitive market.
We do not need another study. Next election ask the voters what they want.
As a typical committee operates, they will sit down to design a horse and end up with a camel.
The Provincial Government should follow the examples of the Amalgamation of Kelowna and Kamloops and get it done.
This would reduce the 57 elected officials to around 10 and reduce the duplicity in the Vernon area.
On a side note, God help us if the Council's in this province are elected for four years. If there was ever an need for the public to express an opinion, this would be the ideal question for same.
hopin to be annexed here in area B!
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